On 17 June 2022, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ilia Darchiashvili met with President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Margareta Cederfelt.
 
During the meeting, the sides welcomed the close cooperation between Georgia and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.
 
The sides discussed the situation in the occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions. Emphasizing the importance of the international community’s strong and consolidated support, the Minister thanked the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Assembly for their support of Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, which was repeatedly expressed in various resolutions and statements. The sides focused on the issue of the Geneva International Talks. Discussions focused on the Georgian government’s peace policy and the steps taken in this direction.
 
The sides also discussed the situation in the region, the ongoing war in Ukraine and its impact on the security environment. The President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly was informed about the political and humanitarian assistance provided by Georgia to Ukraine.
 
Speaking about Georgia's European integration process, the sides underlined the importance of the European Commission's recommendation to grant Georgia European perspective. It was highlighted that the country will continue to move in this direction.

Cooperation between Georgia and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), current military activities witnessed in Ukraine and security environment in the region were among the main topics of discussion at a meeting held today between Irakli Garibashvili, Prime Minister of Georgia and Helga Maria Schmid, OSCE Secretary General.

The Head of Government of Georgia expressed gratitude to the OSCE Secretary General for the efforts made towards a peaceful conflict resolution and rebuilding of trust among the war-torn communities in Georgia, thereby stressing the role of an OSCE Co-Chairmanship in the Geneva International Discussions (GID) and within the format of incident prevention and response mechanisms. It was once again highlighted at the meeting that the following round of GID should be held in the nearest future.

It was noted that irrespective of the difficult challenges faced in the security and humanitarian conditions on the ground, the Government of Georgia remains committed towards a peaceful conflict resolution initiative and democratic development of the country.

Irakli G+aribashvili and Helga Maria Schmid spoke about the military activities witnessed in Ukraine. The Prime Minister of Georgia reiterated solidarity towards Ukraine and stressed the importance of having the war ended in the shortest period of time.

Press Service of the Government Administration

Irakli Garibashvili, Prime Minister of Georgia met Kairat Abdrakhmanov, High Commissioner of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on National Minorities today.

Dignitaries reviewed the successful cooperation of Georgia with OSCE institutions, particularly focusing on the active dynamic of interaction with the Office of High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM).

According to the Head of Government, Georgia is a multi-ethnic country attaching special importance to the effective implementation of the national policy on civic equality and integration. The Prime Minister of Georgia also believes that the referred framework paper developed with an active engagement of HCNM Office aims to create equal opportunities to all citizens of the country, irrespective of their ethnic, religious or other affiliations.

The Prime Minister of Georgia noted at the meeting that Georgia strives to adhere to the high international standards of human rights and freedoms, and to institutionalise the best international practices. The Head of Government of Georgia expressed his gratitude to the OSCE High Commissioner for his active engagement in the consolidation of democratic institutions of Georgia.

It was noted at the meeting that successful cooperation between Georgia and HCNM is evidenced with a vivid example of the education sector, which offers quality teaching and learning opportunities in the mother tongue. Among various mechanisms of a policy on civic integration, access to information and media in minority languages was mentioned, along with wide-scale public awareness campaigns on public programs and services, as well as promotion of cultural events.

Focus was made on the valuable engagement of OSCE in the process of peaceful conflict resolution in Georgia. Reference was also made on the military activities witnessed in Ukraine.

Meeting held at the Government Administration was attended by Mark Fumagal, OSCE HCNM Senior Political Adviser; Zhazira Kul-Mukhammed, OSCE HCNM Personal Adviser; Nino Gogoladze, OSCE HCNM Program Coordinator; Attendees from the Georgian side included H.E. Ketevan Tsikhelashvili, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to the Republic of Austria accredited to OSCE (Permanent Representation of Georgia) and other international organisations headquartered in Vienna.

Press Service of the Government Administration

Today, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili held a meeting with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office/Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau.

The parties discussed the regional security challenges arising from the military action in Ukraine.

The Prime Minister reiterated Georgia's solidarity with Ukraine by providing humanitarian aid and political support, including in every international format. Garibashvili also underlined the vital role and active steps of the international community toward ending the war as soon as possible.

Special attention was paid to future cooperation during Poland's OSCE chairmanship and regional security issues in this context. Irakli Garibashvili, during his conversation with Zbigniew Rau, emphasized the importance of keeping the issue of Georgia's occupied territory high on the agenda during Poland's OSCE chairmanship, also of OSCE engagement in the Geneva International Discussions (GID), and the need to use this format effectively and achieving tangible results. The parties also focused on the importance of effective co-chairmanship of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM), also underscoring the Georgian Government's peace policy.

The Polish diplomat reaffirmed support for Georgia's territorial integrity and sovereignty and the country's European and Euro-Atlantic integration.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister welcomed the crucially important priorities declared by Poland as part of its OSCE chairmanship. The Head of Government thanked the Polish Foreign Minister for visiting Georgia.

During the meeting at the Government Administration, the Polish side was represented by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Georgia Mariusz Maszkiewicz, Polish Ambassador to Montenegro/ Special Envoy of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Artur Dmochowski, Head of the Polish OSCE Chairmanship's Task Force Paweł Kotowski, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus Viorel Moșanu, and Senior Policy Support Officer of the OSCE Secretariat's Caucasus Desk Siegfried Wöber, while the Georgian side was represented by Foreign Minister Davit Zalkaliani, Head of the Government Administration Ilia Darchiashvili, and Georgia's Permanent Representative to the OSCE/Ambassador to Austria Ketevan Tsikhelashvili.

Press Service of the Government Administration

Creating a favorable investment climate in government and business circles, ensuring environmental protection and energy security are a solid foundation for the sustainable development of the oil and gas sector of Turkmenistan, - said Ambassador, Head of the OSCE Center in Ashgabat John MacGregor, speaking at the plenary session of the international forum "Oil and Gas of Turkmenistan – 2022”. The event takes place on March 29-30 at the Yildyz hotel in the capital.

There are numerous OSCE commitments related to elements of economic and environmental security. Good governance at all levels implies a clear, transparent and predictable economic policy framework, legal framework and legislation that ensures business prosperity and investor confidence. After all, it is investments - foreign and domestic - that create the necessary conditions for sustainable and environmentally friendly economic growth, increase employment and improve living standards throughout the OSCE region, the ambassador noted.

Meanwhile, today the global energy sector is redirected towards zero carbon emissions and addressing the urgent problem of the vulnerability of energy networks to man-made and natural disasters. This topic has been repeatedly discussed by the OSCE participating States, and our organization adopted a number of important documents to regulate them, J. MacGregor stressed.

The Government of Turkmenistan is a reliable partner of the OSCE in the practical implementation of these commitments. Relevant national legislation, including the Law of Turkmenistan on Public-Private Partnerships and the Law of Turkmenistan on Foreign Investments, act as an effective regulatory and protective mechanism for investors. The OSCE Center, in turn, takes an active part in the implementation of e-business and e-commerce projects in Turkmenistan, supports public-private partnerships aimed at improving the business-investment climate.

The organization's experts are involved in improving the regulatory framework for small and medium-sized enterprises, strengthening the environmental protection system, the emergency response program in the oil and gas sector, promoting research in the field of renewable energy sources and national energy security policy and energy diplomacy, said in his speech, the head of the Ashgabat OSCE Center.

An OSCE-organized regional workshop on the Lapis Lazuli transit and transport corridor started in Ashgabat on 28 March 2022.

Held in a hybrid format, the two-day workshop served as a platform to introduce the strategy on the implementation of the Lapis Lazuli transit and transport corridor. The OSCE Centre in Ashgabat commissioned the development of the strategy and an action plan of its implementation in an effort to support the signatory countries of the Lapis Lazuli transit and transport agreement in operationalizing the corridor. The strategy aims to contribute to enhancing regional economic integration and transport, drastically reducing geographical distances by the smart use of all modes of transport.

More than sixty representatives from the four signatory countries of the Lapis Lazuli Agreement: Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and Turkmenistan attended the workshop. In addition, the Secretary General of the Permanent Secretariat of the Intergovernmental Commission TRACECA, the Leader of Component 3 of the EU-funded Border Management Programme in Central Asia and OSCE experts participated in the event, presenting best practices of trade and transport facilitation.

During the opening session, John MacGregor, Head of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat, noted a number OSCE commitments addressing economic connectivity and transport facilitation.

“Clearly, there is a strong correlation between increased co-operation and connectivity at borders, increased trade, and improving economic growth,” he said.

“This joint work on the Lapis Lazuli corridor will absolutely benefit the peoples of all of the signatory countries through economic growth,” added MacGregor.

Representatives from the four signatory countries shared their comments and suggestions for updating the strategy and the action plan. The Centre will facilitate a review process, making the strategy and its action plan an integral part of the signatory countries’ national development strategy, thus nationally driven and owned. To this end, the workshop enabled the participants to identify the next steps to further support national partners across the corridor realize fully their transport and transit potential.

The workshop was organized within the framework of the Centre’s extrabudgetary project “Strengthening State Border Service Capacities of Turkmenistan” and supported financially by the Government of Norway.

The OSCE Group of Friends of Georgia  (Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America) issued a joint statement reaffirming that they do not recognize the legitimacy of the so-called “parliamentary election” held in Georgia’s Abkhazia region on 12 March 2022.
According to  the OSCE Group of Friends of Georgia the same is true for the so-called “presidential election” scheduled to be held in Georgia’s South Ossetia region on 10 April 2022.  
The OSCE Group of Friends of Georgia reiterates itsfull support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders, and remains deeply concerned over the continued occupation of parts of the territory of Georgia by the Russian Federation as well as by steps to integrate Abkhazia and South Ossetia into the Russia's socio-economic sphere.
In its statement, the OSCE Group of Friends of Georgia urges Russia to fulfill its obligation under the EU-mediated 12 August 2008 ceasefire agreement, and to withdraw its forces to their positions prior to the outbreak of hostilities, as well as to provide free access for humanitarian assistance to these regions. The Group of Friends of Georgia also calls on Russia to reverse its recognition of the so- called independence of the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The sides discussed the difficult security environment in the region in the wake of Russia's aggression against Ukraine and the challenges facing Georgia.
They stressed the need for Russia to fulfill its international obligations, including under the 12 August 2008 ceasefire agreement. Discussions also focused on the Georgian Government’s policy and efforts to resolve the Russian-Georgian conflict peacefully.
The sides highlighted the difficult security, humanitarian and human rights situation in the occupied regions of Georgia and stressed the need for the active involvement of European and international partners.
Particular attention was paid to the ongoing Geneva International Discussions.  Highlighting the need to use the format effectively, the sides also stressed the importance of restoring the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) in Gali without any preconditions and of holding regular meetings in Ergneti.
At the end of the meeting, Viorel Moșanu confirmed that, in his capacity as Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus and Co-Chair of the Geneva International Discussions, he will spare no effort to ensure active and results-oriented engagement in the peaceful settlement of the conflict.

On January 26, 2022 the delegation of Turkmenistan made a statement on "Priorities of Turkmenistan in the field of economy and environment" at the meeting of the OSCE Economic and Environment Committee.

The statement notes that good economic governance, promoting connectivity through transport and facilitating trade, as well as energy security are priority areas for Turkmenistan in cooperation with the OSCE on economic and environmental activities. In this regard, it was emphasized that Turkmenistan supports the development of dialogue and cooperation in the field of energy security, paying special attention to the protection of energy networks, the promotion of renewable and sustainable energy sources and energy efficiency.

In addition, Turkmenistan also prioritizes practical cooperation with the OSCE in promoting green ports and connectivity, as well as economic empowerment of women in the energy sector. In this regard, the delegation of Turkmenistan mentioned that in recent years the port of Turkmenbashi has participated both in a study to assess the readiness of ports for digital connectivity and in online meetings of the project working group.

The participants of the meeting were also informed that energy security, sustainable transport and water management remain among the priorities of Turkmenistan's foreign policy, which are important components of sustainable development. The delegation of Turkmenistan mentioned several initiatives on the energy security of Turkmenistan, which is put forward within the framework of the UN and other international organizations, including the OSCE. Turkmenistan is consistently increasing its transport capabilities by initiating large-scale international and regional transport and communication projects.

Within the framework of the 28th OSCE Ministerial Council, the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Albania, Sweden, Poland, and North Macedonia, as the previous, current, incoming, and future Chairpersons of the OSCE issued the following statement - STOCKHOLM “QUADRIGA” STATEMENT: OUR COMMITMENTS, OUR SECURITY, OUR OSCE.
The so-called Quadriga reaffirms its commitment to Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, within its internationally recognized borders and underlines its concern about the continuing deterioration of the human rights situation in the Georgia’s Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions.
The Quadriga, on behalf of the OSCE, expresses unwavering support for the Geneva International Discussions (GID) and reaffirms that the OSCE is committed to continuing its leadership of this format, together with the European Union and the United Nations. It is important the GID make progress on core issues of non-use of violence and international security arrangements, as well as the return of internally displaced persons and refugees.
The document also calls for the commitments made in the ceasefire agreement of 2008 to be implemented immediately and in full.

MFA Georgia